Abstract
Objective:
to examine the prospective dose-response association between handgrip strength and the incidence of hypertension in a representative sample of older European adults.
Methods:
We retrieved data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Handgrip strength was measured and participants reported whether they had a medical diagnosis of hypertension. We assessed the longitudinal dose-response associations of handgrip strength with hypertension using restricted cubic splines.
Results:
during the follow-up, 27 149 (35.5%) were diagnosed with incident hypertension. At the fully adjusted model, the minimum and optimal dose of handgrip strength for a significant reduction in the risk of hypertension was 28 Kg (HR: 0.92; 95CI%: 0.89 to 0.96) and 54 Kg (HR: 0.83; 95%CI: 0.78 to 0.89), respectively.
Conclusions:
There exists an association between increased handgrip strength and reduced risk of developing hypertension in older European adults.
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